At many prior art geothermal based power plants, geothermal fluid exiting production wells is separated into a steam portion and a brine portion. In binary power plant cycles, the steam portion can be used to provide latent heat in a vaporizer for producing organic motive fluid vapor while the geothermal steam condensate produced, together with the brine may be brought in heat exchanger relation with the motive fluid of a binary power cycle, e.g. organic motive fluid, for preheating the motive fluid. The organic motive fluid vapor produced can be supplied to an organic vapor turbine for producing electricity.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,664,419 describes an apparatus that comprises a recuperator for transferring heat from heat depleted organic fluid produced by an organic vapor turbine to organic condensate produced by an organic vapor condenser. The heated organic condensate produced by the recuperator is supplied to a pre-heater which receives brine and steam condensate from the vaporizer for transferring sensible heat to the organic fluid before the brine and steam condensate are disposed of while cooled organic vapor produced by the recuperator is supplied to the organic vapor condenser. The combined flow of cooled brine and cooled steam condensate forms a combined flow of diluted, cooled brine for re-injection into a re-injection well. Thus, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,664,419, the presence of the recuperator permits additional heat to be used by the organic working fluid in excess of that transferred directly by the geothermal fluid in the vaporizer and the preheater, without increasing the vaporization temperature of the organic fluid. Thus, the exit temperature of the brine leaving the preheater is no longer the controlling factor for establishing the amount of heat that can be added to the working fluid.
The present invention provides a geothermal steam condensate recovery system for utilizing the steam condensate in a way that it has not been exploited heretofore.
In addition, the present invention provides a geothermal fluid recovery system for utilizing the brine in a way that it has not been exploited heretofore.
Other advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds.